Fish Ratings – New York – 20 May 2025: Fish Ratings was thinking about downgrading the American Shad to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ to generate some publicity for itself, before realising we had already done so in August 2023.
Fish Ratings definitely did not get the idea from Newty’s Corp., which just downgraded American Shad a couple of days ago, giving jaded fish hacks an excuse to churn out excited headlines around the world.
Stick to the amphibians, Newty’s! You don’t see us putting out ratings of salamanders.
If anyone else tries to pull a cheap trick like that, we’ll be very disappointed. We’re looking at you, Krill Pond Rating Agency!
Fish Ratings is above issuing sensationalist downgrade notices for attention. When we downgraded American Shad, it was purely for our own amusement.
The American Shad has been described as “The Founding Fish.” Thomas Jefferson enjoyed it broiled and seasoned with salt, pepper and butter. Its Latin name is Alosa sapidissima, meaning “the most savoury shad”. It is found on both coasts of the United States and its population is growing. Conservationists consider it to be of least concern.
None of these metrics has changed materially since Fish Ratings’ last review of the fish, and we hereby affirm its rating at ‘AA+’ with a Stable outlook.
Image: Sherman Foote Denton
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